Nashville's global nursing conference fosters harmony

Mar. 1, 2014

Merav Ben-Natan of Israel said the conference was 'like a step for peace.'

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Nashville’s global conference on nursing this week not only connected people from all over the world but also allowed for some healing, said Merav Ben-Natan, nursing director at the Hillel-Yaffe Hospital in Hadera, Israel.

“I met someone from Saudi Arabia ... a country not at peace with Israel,” Ben-Natan said. “But she is doing the same type of research that I’m doing about elder abuse and the elderly, and she was delighted to do research with me and she said, ‘I don’t mind if you’re from Israel.’

“So for me, it’s like a step for peace between the two countries. It’s something very, very amazing.”

Professionals from 14 countries and 30 states attended the conference, which focused on elevating the voice of nurses.

“I met the princess of Jordan,” Ben-Natan said, “and I said to her that I want some collaboration between Jordan and Israel, ... so she was happy to do it. This was, for me, a big achievement.”

At the conference, Ben-Natan discussed her involvement with Ethiopian domestic violence prevention in Israel.

Ben-Natan, who came to Nashville through a partnership with the Jewish Federation of Nashville and Middle Tennessee, is a firm believer in the voice of nurses.

“They have a lot of knowledge,” she said. “They’re asking questions; they get the answers — they know the voice of the patient.”